What type of punctuation is needed to separate the items in this list?

Martin Luther King, Jr. – Read each list of facts about Martin Luther King, Jr. Then use them to write a short paragraph whose sentences include properly punctuated items in a series.

Using Punctuation to Separate Items in a Series – The table contains the titles of five books, their authors, and the reason why they were once banned. Use this information to create a single sentence that presents all of this information.

Punctuations are a great tool to make written texts easily readable and assist readers in understanding the text without any confusion. Without their use in written work, the language cannot make sense at all. The absence of these punctuations from any language means that the language cannot exist in written form at all.

While there are innumerable punctuations marks used for different purposes, the purpose of separating items and elements in written form is mostly served by commas and semicolons. These two marks are used differently for different purposes and some specific rules determine their usage. Some of the most important rules for using commas and semi colons are given below:

Using Commas to Separate Items

Commas are used to indicate a small pause in any sentence and this makes them the most useful choice for separating items in a list or sentence. These indicate that the items are separate from each other, but are related in a sentence too. Some of the rules for using commas are:

- One comma is used after each item in a sentence, but the last item follows a full stop and not a comma. - The last item in the list is preceded by 'and' which itself is preceded by a comma.

- There can never be two 'ands' in the same list if the 'and' is not the part of the item's name. Other than that, all 'ands' except one must be replaced by a comma.

Using Semicolons to Separate Items

Semicolons are used where a pause is longer than that represented by a comma, but shorter than a period. Some of the rules for using these include:

- A semi colon is used after a main item if the sub-items are to be listed afterwards - A semi colon can also be used before conjunctions in a sentence to indicate a pause

- Words except proper nouns are never capitalized after semicolons

There are several different punctuation styles for lists. As always, it’s important to be consistent and use the same style throughout your document.

Bullet points, often called dot points, are more commonly used than numbers in lists, but numbers are useful if the order matters or if you want to refer to specific points within the list.

Most lists are introduced with a colon ( : ), not a semicolon (a common mistake). Occasionally, a list will be introduced by a sentence ending in a full stop rather than a colon.

With all these styles, you need to decide whether to make your first-level bullet points flush or indented. You also need to use the same type of bullet point throughout. The most common is the round black bullet point. For second-level bullet points, the most common are dashes or round hollow circles.

Lists using full sentences

With lists that are made up of full sentences, use normal sentence punctuation, as in the following list.

Some editing tips:

• Read your document the next day with fresh eyes.
• Read your headings separately to see if they are consistent.
• Ask someone else to read your document.

Lists with points relating to a stem statement

Semicolons were traditionally used in lists to separate each bullet point, but although this is still correct, they are not used as often today. Legal writing is probably the main exception.

If you do use semicolons, the accepted practice, as in this list, is to:

• put a semicolon at the end of each point;
• use ‘and’ after the second-to-last point; and
• finish with a full stop.

A common style is to use lower case for the first letter in each bullet point, and a full stop after the last bullet point.

Before you travel overseas, remember to:

• make sure your passport is current
• find out if you need any vaccinations
• check the expiry dates of your credit cards.

Many organisations have succumbed to the Microsoft default and now recommend starting all lists with initial capitals. Whether or not you use a final full stop is also a style choice. As always, consistency is important.

Before you travel overseas, remember to:

• Make sure your passport is current
• Find out if you need any vaccinations
• Check the expiry dates of your credit cards (with or without a full stop)

Lists with single words or short phrases

I used to differentiate between short and longer lists, but readers failed to see this distinction, so I recommend using the same style for both short and long lists.

A knowledge of first aid is useful for:

• school children
• parents
• travellers.

A knowledge of first aid is useful for:

• School children
• Parents
• Travellers (with or without a full stop)

Grammatical consistency

You need to be consistent with the way each point relates to a stem statement. You should be able to read each point with the stem statement and it forms a sentence.

When signing up new clients, you must:

• Enter them into the database (verb)
• Open a new file (verb)
• Management notification (should be ‘notify management’)

Adding extra information to run-on lists

When you’re using a run-on list and want to add extra information to a bullet point, you need to think about your punctuation. While it is acceptable to have an additional sentence with no full stop, it looks odd.

If you are going on holiday you need to:

• Consider the weather. You may need to take an umbrella (no full stop)
• Pack sensibly
• Travel light

Consider using a dash before the additional information, or putting it in brackets.

Before you travel overseas, remember to:

• Make sure your passport is current – you have to pay a premium to get a passport in a hurry
• Make sure your passport is current (you have to pay a premium to get a passport in a hurry)

Want to learn more about punctuation? Why not do Mary Morel’s online writing course: An A to Z of Punctuation?

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Use semicolons in a list to separate list items if one of the list items has a comma. Look at this list for example:

• John, the baker
• Simon, the policeman
• Toby, the architect
(In this list, each one of three list items has its own comma, but to justify using semicolons, only one has to have a comma.)

If this list were written in running text (i.e., not as bullet points), it could be written like this:

John, the baker; Simon, the policeman; and Toby, the architect.

(Notice how semicolons are used to separate the list items.)

Normally, we use commas to separate the items in a list. Look at this list for example:

This is a normal list. It would be written like this:

John, Simon, and Toby.

(There are no semicolons in this list because none of the list items contains a comma. However, if one or more of those list items had a comma, semicolons could be used to separate the list items to "outrank" the commas in the list items.) Items in lists are usually separated with commas. For example:

• I have been to Newcastle, Carlisle, and York.

The three list items for the sentence above are as follows: Let's imagine that our three list items looked like this:

• Newcastle, Carlisle, and York in the North
• Bristol, Exeter, and Portsmouth in the South
• Cromer, Norwich, and Lincoln in the East

This time, the list items themselves contain commas. It is now appropriate to use semicolons as separators to outrank those commas. For example:

• I have been to Newcastle, Carlisle, and York in the North; Bristol, Exeter, and Portsmouth in the South; and Cromer, Norwich, and Lincoln in the East.

Not all of the list items must contain commas to justify using semicolons as separators - only one does. Let's imagine our list looked like this:

• Newcastle in the North
• Bristol in the South
• Cromer, Norwich, and Lincoln in the East

This time, only one of the list items contains commas, but that's enough to warrant using semicolons as the separators.

• I have been to Newcastle in the North; Bristol in the South; and Cromer, Norwich, and Lincoln in the East.

Here are some more examples:

• Bread, milk, butter, cheese, lamb, beef, and onions
(There are no semicolons in this list because none of the list items contains its own comma.)
• Bread, milk, butter, and cheese from the corner shop; lamb and beef from the market; and onions from your uncle's stall

• You should choose ham, chicken, or char-grilled vegetable sandwiches; cups of tea, Bovril, or coffee (if you don't mind them lukewarm); or red wine (one of the few options that's drinkable when lukewarm).
(Notice how parentheses (brackets) can be used to add information within the list items.)

Here is another example that includes parentheses (brackets):

• The guests of honour at the dinner will be Dr Alfred Peebles, the expedition leader; Mr Donald Keen, an experienced mountaineer (the latest addition to the expedition); Mrs Susan Honeywell, ornithologist from the RSPCB (Mr Keen's fianc�e); and Capt. John Trimble, the base-camp commander.

Here is a video on using semicolons, which includes a section on using semicolons in lists:

This next section is mostly about commas not semicolons, but it will affect how you punctuate your lists.

In the first example below, the comma after "butter" is called a serial comma or an Oxford comma. In the US, when there are more than two list items, your readers will expect a comma before the conjunction (in this case, "and") that precedes the last list item. In the UK, the tendency is not to use the Oxford comma. Be warned that Brits and Americans are inconsistent on this guidance. The bottom line is this: Choose whichever convention your company uses (or which you like best if you have that much freedom) and be consistent.

• Bread, milk, butter, and cheese
(Notice the comma before "and." This is correct for those following the "Oxford comma" convention.)
• Bread, milk, butter and cheese
(Here, there is no comma before "and." This is correct for those not following the "Oxford comma" convention.)

• I have been to Newcastle in the North; Bristol in the South; and Cromer, Norwich, and Lincoln in the East.
(You must use an "Oxford Semicolon" in a list. It is not optional. It is not a matter of US or UK convention. In other words, when using semicolons as list separators, you must use a semicolon before the conjunction before your last list item.)

Read more about conjunctions and commas. Read more about the Oxford comma.

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